Friday, April 15, 2005

New CAFE Standards Won't Be a Part of Energy Bill

In its infinite wisdom,

The House Energy and Commerce Committee [Wednesday] rejected a proposal to increase average fuel efficiency (CAFE standard) 20% by 2014. That proposal would have raised the CAFE standard for cars from the current 27.5 mpg to 33 mpg.

Opposition to the proposal was bi-partisan; the measure failed by a vote of 36–10.

And while that was going on,

...the House Resources Committee voted to allow oil companies to drill in ANWR. As noted here earlier (post), the EIA also calculated that in the mean case, oil production from ANWR would peak at around 870,000 barrels per day in 2024.

So, looked at another way, the 36% increase in fuel economy standards would reduce consumption by some 1.61 million barrels per day in 2025. Drilling in ANWR could produce 870,000 barrels per day by 2024.